Chapter 3: Munikc

The Imation floated gently in the tunnels under what once was Dallas, Texas. its body looked like a cigar with six retractable legs and a layer of metallic moss all over it. A single tower protruded from its right side about a third of the way down and was only about twenty feet tall. The Imation itself was about the length of two atomic submarines and about 40 meters wide at the center. A large glass window covered the piloting room and command deck. The rear of the ship contained engineering and the launch tubes. While its sister ship the Nebacanezer had been build at the prime of Zion construction, the Imation was its general prototype, being about a year older and certain looked worse for wear. Its hull was covered with various parts from other human ships that gave it a Frankenstein look. Under its rocky and mismatched exterior of parts however, beat the heart of a war ship. Many a glorious mission had been fought on this ship and she was the pride and joy of its crew. On the main bridge the crew finds a new day beginning with a friendly debriefing by the captain.

Munikc could not have been more than a few years shy of thirty, but the years fighting machines inside and outside the matrix was starting to take a toll on him. He was a tall man whose commanding presence made him a natural for a second in command aboard a Zion ship, but his captain had been promoted off the ship, so he was left in the place of captain. Born in the matrix and freed as a youth, Munikc had displayed an unnatural ability at piloting ships. When he was only 15, he snuck aboard an outgoing Zion craft and instantly fell in love with it, the smell, the creak of the engines, and the endlessly winding tunnels. When his ship, where he had stowed away on, had fallen under heavy squiddy attack and the pilot killed, Munikc had taken the wheel and managed to elude an even larger attack force before limping back to Zion, the ship barely afloat. He was arrested on the spot and spent several months in the brig, but he was soon released and was immediately put in pilot training after someone realized what he had done. He finished the course in half the time of a regular recruit, and soon became one of the best pilots in Zion. However after being blamed for a botched rescue mission that resulted in the death of half the rescue party and saving only two crew members, he was court marshaled for flying recklessly. The survivors however stood up for him saying that he was the only reason they were alive was because of his daring flying skills. The council however was not swayed by their testimony and stripped him of his commission. He wandered from ship to ship until he landed on the Imation as a stroke of luck, since their pilot had just transferred to the Nebacanezer. Munikc was immediately hired and has flown with them ever since through thick and thin.

Munikc stood at the end of a long metal table were the crew of the Imation had gathered to listen to the morning debriefing. He had read over the communication that had been received from Zion and was now trying to calm the growing unrest in his crew.

"Well guys Mr. Ludin has been safety taken out of the matrix and is now being picked up by the Icarus recovery ship. We should be getting a debriefing from him in about a week or so once the plugs all come out and he becomes accustomed to living in Zion. According to the scan we did of his computer and his target criteria used for his searching, we have determined he was looking into a series of strange disturbances that seem to suggest an increase of fluctuations in the matrix code. There have been rumors of certain sections of the matrix being tweaked more than usual. Normally these changes are small in nature and most plugged-in do not notice these changes, however these more recent changes are larger in nature and are starting to alert the general populous. While Zion can not give up any other info right now, aside from saying they are investigating the problem; they do send their regards for a successful extraction."

A hushed murmur and rolling of eyes proceeded.

"They also add that we are to proceed with the previous mission on the drawing board and bomb yet another machine distribution node."

A chorus of groans emanated from the crew sitting around the briefing table.

"Come on guys we need to make sure that we find out what Mr. Ludin was looking for and until we get the results, we need to help Zion. So I'll make a call to Virii in the Zion council and see if he knows anything more than they are telling us officially. Then we will jack in and get another medal for bravery."

The crew dispersed as the captain made a long distance video call to Zion. After a few moments a man appears on the screen. The man is about the same age of Munikc and looks dead tired but smiles at seeing the captain's face.

"Sorry to bother you Virii, but we here want to know if you guys got anything yet with the Mr. Ludin investigation."

"Munikc is that you? What in gods name are you doing calling me at 2 am, never mind it's good to see you. To answer your question, we don't have anything yet on Mr. Ludin's research except some brief intel on that agent you killed twice last week getting Mr. Ludin out."

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well according to matrix records he entered a penthouse in New York and then was erased."

"Erased! But how and by who, maybe the matrix or another?"

"Right now we don't know. We suspect that his employer was not happy with his failure and terminated him."

"That's impossible. You can't terminate an agent for good. A body of a host should have been left behind. I don't understand"

"well friend we don't either, so we want you and your crew to be careful. I have a bad feeling about all this and we here in Zion don't want to lose the best ship in the fleet."

"Virii, we both know, that's not the truth. Sure we've come through some suicidal missions with only a few scratches, but we are the smudge on the good record of Zion. And don't forget to watch your own hide there Virii, Zion really isn't the place we set out to save in the first place. We'll handle our end; just don't get lost in it all bureaucracy. Munikc signing out."

Munikc rocked backwards and relaxed into his chair and sat looking out the forward windows to the Imation. A slight fog was rolling in surrounding the ship, a good sign. Whenever there was fog, Munikc knew they were in over their heads and that's where they liked it.